Living and working together are similar, and sometimes combined. When part of most days are spent doing things with each-other, we should realize it is a partner relationship, and it is very important to evaluate functionality and success whether the goal is happiness or a project. You cannot really understand who people are, unless you have serious lengthy interactions; and if you cannot spend hours with each-other, pushing, pulling, and in silence, then just realize you do not really know them well enough for major partnership decisions. Even when you have lived with another, which is even harder than long distance, there are things about them which will not make sense to you. It is only through meditation on the shared living experiences and communications, comparing and contrasting ideas and results, words and actions, good and bad feelings, can we have a real basis for knowing if who they are works with who you are sustainably enough to live happily together. This is not to say that anyone is perfectly good to themselves or others all the time, but we can only know relative to our own experiences and wisdom. Desire to do something with partners cannot be so selfish it excludes them; we succeed or fail together with group projects.

Facebook has made it clear to me, that text messages (no matter how personal), are not a true substitute for the kind of testing that must be done in person eventually. However, the less challenging your communication is, the less prepared you will be to handle each-other when the hardest tests come. The best indicator that you cannot work together, is if both people harbor more resentment than love consistently. The best indicator that you can live and work together successfully, is if the partners harbor more joy and love, than bitterness consistently. Some people have problems expressing certain emotions, so that should be taken into account, however it will impair communication. If you cannot tell how satisfied a person can be or is, it can cause confusion; same for bipolar mood shifts. This is why natural psychological medication, like moderate doses of organic cannabis, are so important for many people to find balance during stressful times or for severe personality disorders.